Bitmine Adds 10,452 ETH but Pivots to Record $399.6M Buybacks

Bitmine Immersion Technologies added 10,452 ETH worth roughly $24 million last week, but the larger capital decision was elsewhere: the NYSE-listed firm repurchased 2.04 million of its own shares, a move it now calls the largest equity repurchase program run by any crypto treasury company. The buyback data came in a company statement issued Monday.

The repurchases, executed at an average price of $22.48, lift Bitmine's 2026 total to 22.9 million shares bought back for approximately $399.6 million — nearly 16 times the dollar value of the week's Ethereum purchase. That is a striking allocation shift for a firm whose entire business model rests on accumulating Ether.

Chairman Tom Lee framed the program as a value play, saying the company intends to repurchase stock "accretively" when management views the shares as undervalued. The statement did not specify what valuation metrics triggered that judgment, and that gap is worth noting; "undervalued" here is management's assertion, not an audited finding. (Disclosure: Tom Lee is one of several investors in Dastan, Decrypt's parent company.)

How close is Bitmine to its 5% Ethereum goal?

The latest purchase brings holdings to 6,051,933 ETH, worth roughly $14.3 billion at a reference price of $2,356 per coin. By the company's own count, that equals 4.95% of Ethereum's 122.2 million token supply — 99% of the way to the 5% threshold it brands the "Alchemy of 5%."

Lee has previously said the firm will stop buying once it reaches that mark. Whether the buyback pivot signals an early wind-down of accumulation remains unstated in the filing. In plain words: the company is two basis points of Ethereum's supply away from its stated ceiling.

What did Lee say about market weakness?

Lee again characterized recent crypto weakness as a buying opportunity rather than a warning sign, arguing the pullback stemmed from the same risk-off forces behind a broader artificial-intelligence selloff. He noted ETH had fallen 13% from its recent peak while U.S. semiconductor stocks dropped 20% over the same stretch — evidence, in his view, that "a crypto bull market is underway."

The claim deserves scrutiny. Correlation with a semiconductor drawdown does not by itself establish a bull market; it establishes shared sensitivity to risk sentiment. Takeaway: Lee's framing is directional commentary, not on-chain evidence.

What sits on Bitmine's balance sheet?

Counting cash, other tokens and what the company calls "moonshot" investments, total holdings stood at $15 billion as of Oct. 25:

• 6,051,933 ETH (core treasury)
• 215 Bitcoin
• $514 million in cash and marketable securities
• A $180 million stake in Beast Industries
• A $76 million position in Eightco Holdings
• 5,227,037 ETH, about 86% of holdings, staked through its MAVAN platform, generating projected annualized staking revenue of roughly $318 million

Bitmine remains the world's largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, trailing only Michael Saylor's Strategy.

Why does Strategy's move matter?

Strategy leaned the same direction this week. It paused Bitcoin buying for the first time since mid-September and spent $204.9 million repurchasing its STRC preferred stock. Both treasury giants chose to shore up their own paper over fresh crypto purchases in the same week — a coincidence that reads more like a pattern.

For holders of either company, the operational consequence is straightforward: accretion now depends on capital-return discipline rather than relentless accumulation. Strategy's pause shows even the largest treasuries will divert funds to preferred equity when the price of their own paper looks cheap.

Bitmine's next disclosed weekly purchase will show whether the firm crosses the 5% threshold — and whether the buyback program, now $399.6 million deep, expands before the accumulation phase formally ends.